ISLA BLANCA KITE FESTIVAL

A kite festival in the Mexican Caribbean… A day outside filled with sun, sand, sea and lots of fun!

Kites were originated in Ancient China. There are precise registers that state they came to be in the year 200 BC, when General Han Hsin flew a kite above the walls of a city they intended to attack. Centuries later, this artifact was introduced to Mexico by the Spaniards, and the indigenous civilization called it back then papalote or papalotl, which means butterfly.

With this in mind, and considering the fact that kites are colorful and fascinating artifacts, North American Charles Steward decided five years ago to create the Isla Blanca Kite Festival, in the nearby region of Isla Mujeres, with the sole purpose of gathering and collecting funds to help children from the Cancun Pro Kids foundation.

Cancun Pro Kids is a non-profit organization in charge of receiving children who were victims of domestic violence; it’s a nursing home that is sustained thanks to donations from the people and other associations that work alongside to gather funds in several events.

This is the main reason why this past weekend the 5th Isla Blanca Kite Festival took place, where traditional and colorful kites were sold, and even a raffle was organized in favor of the association, who work hard and place a lot of effort into taking care of children who find themselves in vulnerable situations.

Kite professionals from USA and Canada were part of this wonderful festival, who come back to the Mexican Caribbean year after year with the intention of helping the organization. The sky of Isla Blanca was swamped with these colorful and fascinating flying kites, homemade and crafted by these children’s own hands; one could also get a glimpse of professional kites flying across the sky, of two and three lines… There was even a very cool kite in the shape of a giant octopussm 7 meters long!

Penny Linger Felter has won several championships and tournaments in Washington and has attended events of the sort in Malaysia, Canada and Mexico; she guarantees and expresses that this last location has a very special place in her heart, because she’s witnessed the growth and development of every child that participates in the festival, and shares nothing but love and admiration for them and kites!